Guardians, The Beginning
by DragonScouter
Summary: Ever wonder why Hinge started the Guardians? Or how he met the others? Or maybe wondered about his point of view during his test with Tana? Well, read this and you will find out. Rated just in case.
1. Hinge

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: Ok, so I can't wait to tell you all how this group started. It is an amazing group but they can be violent. That is why I am saying this now before any of them get to join me.**

* * *

Ch. 1: Hinge

A brown car mech walked down the streets of Iacon with a gentle tread. Any bot who passed him could tell that he was deep in thought. At that moment, the bot was thinking about a training session he just had with a group of warriors-in-training the other day.

Everything was going like it normally did and the group was taking an energon break. While they were relaxing, the group had begun to talk about femmes. This normally wouldn't be a subject of interest to him but he decided to listen in for once. He was troubled when he heard them talk about femmes like objects of possession that could be used and then thrown away.

Angered by this, he yelled at them and said he was through training them. They had tried to say that they were just kidding but he had seen the true beating of their sparks and he knew that they meant every disgusting word.

He had gone home that night and had problems falling into recharge. His conscience had been eating him alive. What kind of bots was he training? Who was he sending out with his training? When he had finally fallen into recharge, he experienced a gruesome nightmare. In the nightmare, faceless mechs were burning homes and attacking femmes. He tried to run and stop the mechs but each time he tried, he was too late and the mechs would point at him and say that it was his fault. Then, the femmes started to do the same.

The mech had then woken up and canceled all of his training sessions that he had set up. He had received many angry messages demanding to know why but he just said he couldn't do it anymore.

The mech was now heading towards a busy part of Iacon to see Ultra Magnus. Ultra Magnus had been receiving complaints from the bots that he had canceled on and Ultra Magnus had requested an informal meeting at Macadams.

The brown mech soon arrived at Macadams and headed toward the V.I.B. section. He soon arrived at the correct room and opened the door. Inside, Ultra Magnus was sitting at the two person booth and already had ordered a cube of high grade for the brown mech. The mech walked over and sat down on the opposite side of Ultra Magnus before grabbing the cube and taking a sip.

"Hello Hinge. You know why I asked you to come down here."

The brown mech, Hinge, swallowed a sip and nodded before saying, "My previous clients called you because I canceled all of their sessions."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "Yes. They are demanding to know why you canceled. I personally would like to know as well."

Hinge let out a sigh before saying, "I am not going to be a call up trainer anymore."

"Why? You are the best one on Cybertron."

"Because I don't know who I am training."

"Explain."

"Well, I don't have a clue on what their moral standard is and I don't want to be responsible for giving some sick bot the tools to hurt others."

A silence then settled between the two of them before Ultra Magnus stated, "I see. And you have every right to do that. But what is your plan on what you are going to do now?"

And it had been that very question that had been plaguing Hinge. What would he do? Training had been all he had ever known. He had trained under the best trainer ever since he was a youngling. Hinge had never learned about anything else. Now he was in a bind. He shook his helm and said, "I have no idea. I am going to have to spend more time thinking about that."

"I hope that Primus helps you make the correct choice." Ultra Magnus stated.

Hinge nodded and said, "Thanks. How are things going in politics?"

Ultra Magnus let out a tired sigh and said, "Well, the council wants me to set up a group of soldiers that are independent of our influence. The only problem is finding a group of bots that are willing to run themselves without help from us."

Hinge nodded in understanding. He knew that a lot of bots who started a group usually got help from the government and it was very difficult to start one on your own. "I can imagine that you aren't getting very many offers."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "You would be right. As soon as I let out that there will be no government help, they all find an excuse to suddenly leave." He then sighed before saying, "Well, I have to get back to the council. They are probably upset that I am holding them up."

The two then stood and shook servos before Hinge said, "It was nice speaking to you Ultra Magnus. And good luck with the council."

Ultra Magnus smiled at that and said, "It was nice speaking to you too Hinge. And I hope you find something to do with yourself." The two then left Macadams.

As Hinge walked home, he started to think about what he would do with his future. He knew that he couldn't be a scout thanks to the multiple times he had walked into obvious pranks. A scout was supposed to be alert of their surroundings, qualities that he did not have. He couldn't remember anything that he read most of the time so being an intelligence agent was out as well. Pretty much everything he could think of was out except for a warrior.

A few clicks later, Hinge arrived at his living quarters and punched in his code before going inside and hitting the wash racks. He was hoping that the warm water would help him to relax and think with a clear processor. He was right about the relaxed part when he lay on his berth and he felt all of the tension that he had built up just flow away. But, as he tried to think, he felt his processor go numb and, even though he tried to fight it off, he soon fell into a deep recharge.

* * *

Hinge glanced around and saw the same scene he had seen in his previous dream. Black faceless mechs were attacking the city and hurting the femmes and again he ran to stop them. That was when things changed. From behind him, silver faceless mechs came and defended the femmes from the black mechs. He then heard himself giving orders and soon, both he and the silver mechs drove the black mechs away.

He then watched himself walk up to a nearby femme and her sparkling. The femme looked at him with grateful optics and said, "Thank you, Guardian Hinge." Hinge watched himself nod to the femme before his vision went black.

* * *

Hinge sat up and onlined his optics in shock. His processor was reeling from his dream. He felt like the dream was a sign as to what he should do with his life. But he couldn't figure out what it meant. He hopped out of his berth before pacing around his room. He did that for about three clicks until he remembered his talk with Ultra Magnus and he knew the answer right away.

Hinge was a flurry of motion as he ran to his study and started to pull up all of his account information and scanned through them. He then opened another file and found out just what type of buildings he owned. He went through them all until he landed on the perfect building. It was almost the size of Fortress Maximus and had been updated with the most recent technology. The building was one of the ones that he had not used but had bought for a charity organization. The building was located on the edge of Iacon so he would also have the use of the land on the other side.

Glancing at his internal clock, Hinge saw that it was the time of the solar cycle when bots were just starting to get up. He knew he had to act fast so he sent a message to Ultra Magnus to open up a communication channel. It took a few clicks but Ultra Magnus eventually accepted and asked, "What do you wish to speak about Hinge?"

"Do you have any meetings this morning?" Hinge asked in a hurry.

"No, my first meeting isn't until the council meeting in two cycles. Why?" Ultra Magnus asked, curiosity in his voice.

"Don't make any plans. I am coming down to see you." Hinge said.

"Ok, I will be expecting you." Ultra Magnus stated before closing the line.

Hinge ran to the wash racks and cleaned himself off and drank a cube of low grade before running out the door and making his way to Fortress Maximus. As he ran down the street, he noticed that many bots were stopping and staring at him, probably wondering why he was in a hurry. He smirked at their curiosity. Cybertronians were so nosy about ever bot's business that they often didn't mind their own.

He eventually made it to the Fortress and ran up the main platform into the building. He then sprinted down the hallways until he arrived at Ultra Magnus' hallway. He calmed himself down and slowed his intakes before walking to Ultra Magnus door and knocking. On the other side, Hinge heard Ultra Magnus say, "Come on in." Hinge obliged and entered the room. When the door closed, he walked to the front of Ultra Magnus' desk and took a seat. "What did you need to tell me about that was so important that you needed to come here at the early cycles of the solar cycle?"

Hinge relaxed himself before saying, "I think I have come up with a way to solve both of our problems."

"What problems?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"Well, my problem with what I am going to do with myself and your problem with trying to find a group of bots." Hinge answered.

"And what is that solution?" Ultra Magnus asked. But Hinge could tell that Ultra Magnus already had an idea about what it could be.

"I wish to start a group of warriors that will be independent from the government." Hinge stated.

Ultra Magnus nodded and asked, "Do you have the means to start this group?"

"Yes. I went over my credits last night and I have the funds. Plus, I own a building on the edge of Iacon that will suffice for a headquarters." Hinge stated.

Ultra Magnus seemed to think about that for a click before taking out a data pad and filling some things out. After about a click, he turned the data pad toward Hinge and said, "I just need you to name the group and sign your name."

Hinge took the data pad and tried to think of a name. After staring at it for a few clicks, he finally realized what the perfect name would be and wrote it in before signing his name. He then handed the data pad back to Ultra Magnus. Ultra Magnus had a surprised look appear on his faceplate before nodding and saying, "You picked an interesting name for this group."

Hinge smiled and said, "Yep. I think it is perfect."

Ultra Magnus then stood and said, "I will take this to the council immediately. I must go now."

Hinge then followed Ultra Magnus out of the room. Hinge then started to walk down the hall when he turned as Ultra Magnus said, "Good luck Hinge, first Guardian of Cybertron."

And all Hinge could do was smile as he walked out of the Fortress toward his new headquarters.

* * *

**Hinge: Hey Authoress, glad I get to join you on these talks.**

**Authoress: Glad to have you Hinge. So, do you think that you could give me some advice?**

**Hinge: What?**

**Authoress: Well, should I tell them about Blackbit next?**

**Hinge: Yes, you already promised them you would and he was the second Guardian anyways. It would make clear sense to talk about him next.**

**Authoress: Thanks Hinge!**

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**AN: Ok, so here is the first part of the Guardian origins. It will be five chapters long and I believe that it will help everyone understand some of the back story on all the bots. Plus, some parts in this story will be important for the sequel to The Journey of a Strange Femme. So, I will try to upload the other parts of this tomorrow and Saturday if I have time. Hope you all liked this. Please read and review. But no flames please.**


	2. Blackbit

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

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**Authoress:Well, this certainly is going to be entertaining.**

**Hinge: What will?**

**Authoress: This chapter about when you met Blackbit and accepted him on your team.**

**Hinge: *smiles* Oh, this is a fun story.**

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Ch. 2: Blackbit

Hinge placed the final energon dispenser in the rec room before glancing around and nodding in satisfaction. The Guardian headquarters was finally complete. The battle simulators were online, stores full of energon and weapons, and the other rooms were stocked with the necessities. Now it was time for the hard part; finding bots who had the qualifications to join.

So, he did the only thing he could think of. He went out and started to study the different platoons and personal trainer groups for bots who would fit his criteria of a Guardian. The bots that joined had to be physically fit and able to hold their own in battle and all of those criteria, of course.

Hinge's thoughts were interrupted when he passed a stand of cloaks that were on sale. Figuring that this would help him find bots easier, he paid the credits for one and threw it on before continuing his train of thought.

He was also was looking for the moral convictions as well. They must have the desire to defend those around them, even if it puts their own lives in jeopardy. Also, the bot should be able to have some control over their anger. Hinge knew that controlling anger played a key role when fighting.

* * *

The sound of a feminine yelp followed by a crashing sound drew Hinge away from his thoughts. Glancing around, he deduced that the sounds were coming from the bar next to him. When he walked inside, he observed the situation. The main room of the bar was split in two sides. In front of the left side, a blue and green mech was smirking at a lavender femme on the floor, who was trying to pick up some dropped energon cubes.

Hinge growled to himself and was about to go give that mech a piece of his processor when a flicker of movement caught his optics. A rather large black car mech, who was about half a helm taller than he was, came out of the right side of the room and bent down to help the femme. Hinge decided to watch this so he hid in the shadows before returning his attention to the scene.

The blue and green mech shook his helm and said, 'What do you think you are doing blackie? You're blocking my view."

The black mech finished picking up the cubes and helped the femme up before turning to the dual colored mech and saying, "I believe you owe this femme an apology."

The dual colored mech smirked and said, "Only if to apologize for how stupid she was for getting in my way."

The black mech narrowed his optics and said, "No, you are the one that got in her way and tripped her on purpose. Now, apologize to the femme and we won't have any issues."

The dual colored mech turned back to his friends behind him and said, "Do you mechs here that? He is ordering me, Windbreaker Minor, to apologize to some mech toy femme."

The black mech let out a soft, but audible growl, at that and said, "Last chance, Windbreaker Minor, apologize to the femme before this has to get ugly."

"Who do you think you are? I should put a low ranking bot like yourself in your place." Windbreaker stated before walking up and shoving Blackbit.

The move was so fast that even Hinge's trained optic was hard pressed to follow it. One nano-click they are both standing there staring at each other and the next the black mech's fist slams into Windbreaker's faceplate and said bot rose a little into the air until falling to the ground. Windbreaker yelped as the black mech grabbed him by the neck and hauled him onto his pedes before saying, "Now, what do you have to say to this gentle femme?"

"Sorry for making you fall ma'am." Windbreaker stated quickly.

The black mech then flung Windbreaker into his friends before saying, "And don't let me catch you doing that again. That goes for anyone in here. I won't go as easy the second time." The black mech then walked up to the femme and asked, "Are you alright?"

The femme nodded and said, "The name's Lavana and yes, I am ok. Thank you for sticking up for me sir."

The black mech nodded before saying, "You're welcome ma'am. I wasn't going to stand there and let him mistreat you."

Lavana again nodded before going back to work. The black mech glanced around before heading out the doors.

* * *

Hinge wanted to follow him but he knew that he needed recon information before he could approach the mech. So, he walked up to the bar and motioned for the bar keeper. The bar keeper, who was a larger purple and brown heavy duty mech, came up to him and asked, "What can I get you stranger?"

"I could use a cube of mid-grade and some information." Hinge answered.

The mech called out the mid-grade order before returning his attention to Hinge and asking, "What information are you looking for?"

"What can you tell me about that black mech?" Hinge asked.

The bar keeper laughed and said, "That's Blackbit. He is said to be the one of the greatest warrior trainers on Cybertron, second only to the bot known as Hinge. He comes here regularly and orders the same thing, two mid-grades, and sits here for a good cycle before he leaves. That mech, he helps me out a lot here, by scaring the lower folk who a bot like me couldn't handle. I assume you saw that confrontation?"

Hinge nodded and said, "Yeah, I caught most of it."

The barkeeper nodded and said, "Well, he is one of the few bots that I have met that will stick up for the femmes like that. And his demands are usually met with the same response. Though I will admit, that Windbreaker had some nerve. Most of the stupid bots at least have enough sense not to mock him. That was a big mistake on his part. That was the only time I expected Blackbit to hit first, but as you saw, he didn't."

The barkeeper then stopped talking as Hinge's mid-grade arrived and he left so that Hinge could drink it in peace. And peace was exactly what Hinge needed. This Blackbit character seemed the perfect fit to be a Guardian, but Hinge wanted to be absolutely sure before he approached him and asked. How was he going to do that? All he knew about the mech was that he came here regularly around this time. How was he going to be able to see this bot in fighting action?

Once his mid-grade was gone, Hinge set the cube on the bar and the barkeeper came back and said, "Anything else you need to know?"

Hinge nodded and asked, "Will he be back here tomorrow?"

The barkeeper nodded and said, "Yep, he usually gets here about half a cycle before the fight started this solar cycle. Oh, and the designation's Slapjack. You got a designation?"

Hinge knew that he had to keep his identity somewhat secret so he asked, "I need you to swear on Primus, the Allspark, and your spark that you will not tell another spark who I am."

Slapjack looked a little nervous and asked, "You aren't running from the law, are you?"

Hinge shook his helm and said, "No, I'm not running from the law. I just don't want bots swarming me when they figure out who I am."

Slapjack smiled at that and said, "Oh, you're one of those famous bots. Yes, I swear on Primus, the Allspark, and my spark that I will not tell another spark who you are."

Hinge was satisfied with that answer and lifted his hood so only Slapjack could see who he was before saying, "My designation is Hinge."

Slapjack stared at Hinge in shock for a click before saying, "And what brought you here to my place?"

"I'm looking for somebot. Don't know who though." Hinge stated. He then paid his credits and got up before saying, "I got to go back to my base now. I have some things to think over."

Slapjack nodded and said, "Can I assume that you will be back here tomorrow?"

Hinge nodded and said, "Yes, I plan on doing a little more searching here."

"Is there a table you would like me to reserve for you?" Slapjack asked.

Hinge shook his helm and stated, "No, I think it is best that I observe from the bar.

Slapjack nodded and said, "Ok. Then I will see you tomorrow."

Hinge nodded before going out of the bar. When he got outside, he noticed that it was very late. He then decided to stop by the cloak place and just bought all of the cloaks. He then headed back to the Guardian headquarters and washed in his wash racks before laying on his berth and thinking. This mech called Blackbit could be the bot he has been looking for. But, what if he was wrong and he ended up failing? Before his thoughts could wonder further though, Hinge fell into a nice recharge.

* * *

He was really getting tired of this dream. Like before, the faceless black mechs were attacking the femmes. He ran toward a femme and her sparkling that were being attacked when the silver faceless bots came alongside of him. That was when things changed again. One of the silver bot's armor turned black and he grew so he was a little taller than Hinge before the mech turned to him and he saw that it was Blackbit. Blackbit stared at him for a click before asking, "What now Hinge?" Then, Hinge woke up.

* * *

Hinge glanced at his internal alarm and saw that it was already the middle of the solar cycle. How had he slept in so late? He checked his messages and washed up before grabbing his cube of low grade and quickly downing it. After that, he threw on his cloak and walked out the door for the solar cycle.

His first stop, before going back to the bar, was to stop by Ultra Magnus' office. He knew that he didn't schedule an appointment but, since he got up late, there was not much time to. So, he walked into Fortress Maximus and made his way into the hallway where Ultra Magnus' office was located. When he arrived at the door though, he paused when he heard yelling on the other side.

"This was supposed to be a group of warriors Ultra Magnus. That was what the council was expecting. But, there is only one bot and he does not seem like he is in a rush to get any new bots." A mech voice stated.

Hinge heard Ultra Magnus sigh before saying, "Dragstrip, Hinge is making sure that he picks an appropriate team to train."

"Who does he think he is that he can waste our time?" The same voice, which belonged to this Dragstrip mech, asked.

Hinge decided that now was an appropriate time to make his presence known so he knocked on the door. It took a click but Ultra Magnus finally asked, "Who is it?"

"It's Hinge. I need to talk with you about something." Hinge responded.

A sound of surprise was heard coming from the other side before Ultra Magnus said, "You can enter."

Hinge opened the door and walked in to see Ultra Magnus sitting behind his desk with a tope and maroon car mech standing in front of it. Hinge could see the anger that was still flowing off of him and Hinge realized that this mech was seriously upset.

"Hinge, it is nice to see that you are here. I am Dragstrip." Dragstrip introduced himself.

Hinge nodded and said, "And it seems you already know me."

Dragstrip nodded before saying, "Yes, and it is fortunate that you are here. Would you care to explain to me why the numbers of your group have not increased?"

Hinge narrowed his optics and nodded, "Yes. It is because I want to make sure that I pick out bots that I won't regret training."

Dragstrip frowned and said in a raised voice, "Let me rephrase that. I expect you to have your numbers raised up substantially the next time we come and check on you."

Hinge was now sick and tired of this bot, who thought that he could run his group, and said with a small hint of anger, "Let _me_ put it to you this way sir, _my_ group is under no obligations to the government. _I_ started it with my own funds and _I_ completely own the building and land that the headquarters is on. So, I do not have to keep up with what you believe are the proper standards for a group of warriors. _I_ will decide what bots will join my team and _when_ they come aboard."

Dragstrip huffed at that and turned to Ultra Magnus before saying, "Have a good solar cycle Ultra Magnus." He then promptly stormed out of the office.

Both Hinge and Ultra Magnus sat down after that and Ultra Magnus asked, "So, what brought you down here?"

Hinge then remembered that he had actually come here to get some information so he asked, "What do you know about a bot named Blackbit?"

Hinge relaxed when Ultra Magnus actually smiled and said, "You won't find many bots like him. Actually, he reminds me a lot of you."

Hinge raised an optic ridge in confusion before asking, "How?"

"Well he is a great warrior, second best on Cybertron so I've heard. Also, he has the same moral standards as you do. And, he is always ready to fight to protect those who can't protect themselves." Ultra Magnus answered before raising an optic ridge of his own and asking, "But why the interest in him?"

"Well, I am considering him as a candidate to become a Guardian. I just have to watch one of his fights now." Hinge stated. He then checked his internal clock and saw that if he did not start heading over to the bar, he might miss something important. "Ultra Magnus, I am sorry to pop in and go like this, but I have to go now. I have to do more surveillance on Blackbit soon and I don't want to be late."

Ultra Magnus nodded and shook Hinge's servo before saying, "Good luck." Hinge nodded before running out of Fortress Maximus and to the bar.

* * *

Making sure that his cloak was still up, he walked in and sat at the same bar seat he did last time. Before he turned to the counter though, Hinge saw that Blackbit was already there. Hinge then motioned for Slapjack to come over and was not surprised when he did come over with a couple of cubes of mid-grade. Taking one for himself, Hinge took a sip before asking, "Anything interesting happen yet?"

Slapjack took a sip of his before shaking his helm and saying, "Nope. Blackbit got here just a few clicks before you did and he just ordered his energon."

Before anything else could be said, the main door was slammed open. Hinge didn't dare turn around but he didn't have to as Slapjack whispered, "Holy Primus I was not expecting that rascal to show up here so soon."

"Who is it?" Hinge asked.

"It's Windbreaker and his cronies. I thought that Blackbit had knocked enough sense into him to avoid this place for a while." Slapjack stated in shock.

It was with that statement that Hinge finally turned around and saw Windbreaker walk up to Blackbit's table and knock his energon away from him before demanding, "You! I demand a battle with you!"

Blackbit just glanced up at him before saying calmly, "The designation is Blackbit and you could have asked a little nicer. I would have accepted."

Windbreaker just growled and backed up a few paces before getting in a fighting stance. "No, they are going to trash my bar! And I just got it redone after last time!" Hinge heard Slapjack complain softly.

He knew he had to help keep Slapjack's bar safe so he said, "Wait!"

All optics turned to him and Windbreaker asked with an annoyed voice, "What do you want?"

Hinge resisted the urge to sigh as he said, "I don't think that the owner of this bar would appreciate you two fighting in here and destroying everything. If you would both follow me, I will take you two to a training location where you two can go at it."

Windbreaker was about to retort when Blackbit nodded and said, "I believe that would be best. Thank you."

Hinge then turned and Slapjack said, "Thanks." Hinge then grabbed his mid-grade, paid for it, and led the two bots to his training area outside his old home.

"Hey, isn't this were that pathetic mech who stopped training bots used to live?" Windbreaker asked.

Hinge nodded and said, "Yes, but I am a close friend and I don't think he will mind us using it." Hinge then looked around and saw that everyone from the bar had come, even the work staff and Slapjack, to see this fight. Hinge then returned his attention to the two mechs and said, "Ok, you both know how a battle match works I presume?" Both nodded so he continued, "Then the only rule I am going to change is that there will be no blasters used in this fight. I believe that a true challenge like this should be settled with strength."

Both bots nodded in agreement and soon they were circling each other. As they were, Hinge felt a presence stand next to him and turned to see Slapjack. "This should be an interesting fight." Slapjack stated.

"I sure hope so." Hinge said in return.

He then focused on the match as Windbreaker made a mad dash at Blackbit. Blackbit just stood there and waited for Windbreaker to get closer before he sidestepped and let Windbreaker run a little past him before grabbing his wrist and flinging him back to where he started. Windbreaker let out a growl before again going at Blackbit and the two were soon blocking each other's blows. Blackbit seemed to know that Windbreaker would have a small speed advantage and the best thing to do would be to stand and wait for Windbreaker to attack him.

Windbreaker then brought out a half sword and held it in front of himself before charging. Blackbit again waited until Windbreaker was right on top of him before pulling out a large broadsword and using it to parry Windbreaker's attack. The force of the parry caused Windbreaker to fall back and hit the ground hard and Hinge assumed that Blackbit must have gotten tired of fighting because he walked up to Windbreaker and placed his sword at his neck before saying, "Yield."

"I yield." Windbreaker grumbled. Blackbit reached down to help him up but pulled his servo back when Windbreaker growled at him and got up on his own before walking over to his friends. Hinge knew that Blackbit was the one to become a Guardian after that battle so he walked up to Blackbit and said, "That was a well fought battle Blackbit."

Blackbit turned to him and said, "Thank you. And that was a smart idea about bringing the battle out here. I don't think Slapjack would have been very happy if I destroyed his bar again."

Hinge laughed at that and said, "No, I don't think he would have been to terribly thrilled. But, I would assume that you would have helped him rebuild?"

Blackbit nodded and said, "Yeah. I would have. But thanks to you, I don't have to."

Hinge nodded and went to ask the question when he heard the soft sound of a sniper blaster warming up. He wasted no time in dashing around Blackbit and using his arm to deflect the blast, which caused enough damage so it would leak energon, before knocking the gun out of Windbreaker's servos and slamming it to the ground, causing it to break. Hinge glared at Windbreaker and yelled, as Blackbit came and stood next to him, "You are a disgrace to the warrior name. You don't deserve the title of Minor."

Windbreaker glared right back at Hinge, who still had his cloak on and asked, "Who the frag are you? You have no right to yell at me you cloaked freak. And I want payment for that gun. It cost probably more credits then you have seen."

Hinge realized that he would have to unmask himself so he grabbed the cowl of his cloak and pulled it off while saying, "I am Hinge, top warrior trainer on Cybertron and leader of the Guardians and I would advise you running away from here and hiding yourself in shame for the rest of eternity."

Everybot's optics, even Blackbit's, widened in shock at this revelation. Windbreaker and his cronies wasted no time in running away from there. Hinge wrapped his arm in a bandage before he turned his attention to Blackbit and said, "I guess you now know who I am. It is nice to meet you officially."

Blackbit seemed to study Hinge before saying, "I have this feeling that you arranged this to be out here for a reason. What is it?"

Hinge knew that this was the moment of truth so he said, "I have been looking for deserving bots to join me as Guardians. I have studied you for these past two solar cycles and I have found that you have every quality I am looking for in Guardians. You are capable of fighting both physically and mentally and you have a good sense of morality. I wish I could have tested you personally, that is what I am planning for future Guardians, but I believe that the battle you just fought was suffice. I wish to know if you would like to join the Guardians."

Blackbit thought about that for a click before nodding and saying, "Yeah, I think that we will make a good team."

Hinge smiled and turned to Slapjack before saying, "Hey, get some high grade ready because we are celebrating." Slapjack nodded with enthusiasm and he headed back to the bar to get everything ready, with the rest of the bots following so Blackbit and Hinge were at the back.

"Hey Hinge," Blackbit started.

"Yes Blackbit?" Hinge asked.

Blackbit put his arm around Hinge's shoulders before saying with a playful smirk, "You're a lot shorter then I pictured you."

A yelp then came from Blackbit as Hinge punched his arm.

* * *

**Hinge: Blackbit, thank Primus you are here. It was getting boring with just me and Authoress.**

**Authoress: *sadly* You didn't like talking with me?**

**Blackbit: Now you did it.**

**Hinge: No, I loved talking to you. I am just glad that Blackbit will make this a trio now.**

**Authoress: *smiles* I forgive you.**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is chapter two done. Hope you all liked it. This was pretty fun to write. Until next time, please read and review. But no flames please.**


	3. Chem

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Blackbit: Ok, so what do you two normally talk about here?**

**Authoress: We normally talk about who is next on Hinge's meet list.**

**Blackbit: Ok, and who is next?**

**Hinge: It's Chem.**

**Blackbit: Oh.**

* * *

Ch. 3: Chem

Two cloaked figures watched as some trainees took a quick energon break. There were special spickets set up so they could get a quick drink. The figures had noticed earlier that most of the bots were big burly mechs but there was one normal model among them.

As they all went to get a drink, the figures frowned as they watched the normal model get shoved away from the spicket he was about to drink out of. Surprise filled the figures when the bot did not get angry or violent but went after another open spicket. The figures' frowns deepened when again, the normal model mech was shoved away from the spicket.

When the bigger bots finally went away from the spickets, the figures watched the bot try one of the spickets and felt anger swell up inside when only a few drops came out and the mech accepted those precious few without any sort of resentment in his optics. How dare those larger bots guzzle all of that excess energon when their team mate had not had any yet!

The figures continued to watch the last bit of the training before the instructor, who was colored black and gray and was as burly as the other mechs, blew the whistle to end. The instructor then gathered them all together and told them all to get rested for the next day. He then turned to the normal model mech and told him to clean up all the gear and mess and make sure everything was ready for the next day.

* * *

That was the last straw for the figures. Before any of the trainees could leave, the larger of the two figures brought out a blaster and fired a shot in front of them, officially cutting off everybot's path. That caused all of the bots there to stare at the two figures.

The smaller figure heard the instructor, who one of his sources said was called Pitch, curse before walking in front of his troops and saying, "Who the frag do you think you are?"

The smaller figure let out a chuckle before saying, "Well, this mech next to me is Blackbit, second best warrior trainer on Cybertron and one of the two Guardians."

The smaller figure smirked when a chorus of mutters went up when his friend revealed himself. The smaller figure was surprised when Pitch turned to him and asked with a snooty voice, "And who are you? His secretary?"

The smaller figure heard Blackbit let out a small growl and held a servo up to stop him before saying, "No, you idiotic frag helm, I am most certainly not his secretary." The figure then took off his cloak while saying, "I am known as Hinge, the top warrior trainer on Cybertron as well as the leader of the Guardians."

Hinge was thoroughly enjoying the shocked look on all of the bots' faceplates at his introduction. Then, Pitch stammered a bit before saying, "It is an honor to have you here Hinge. What reason do you have being so far from your headquarters?"

Hinge resisted the urge to roll his optics and said, "We came here in search of a new recruit for the Guardians and a source of mine said that you have the best troop around."

Pitch nodded enthusiastically before saying, "Your source was absolutely correct. I have the finest bots around." He then turned to his troops and barked, "What are you bots waiting for? Get lined up!"

The group of bots scrambled to get in line and Hinge internally frowned as the normal model mech got shoved around again until he got put at the end of the line.

Pitch then led Hinge to the burliest mech there and said, "This here is Burnsport and he is my finest bot. He has passed all of his evaluations with the highest marks."

Hinge studied the red and orange mech for a little. Yes, he certainly had a sturdy build but Hinge had seen during the session, that they had watched, that Burnsport was a lone player and his reaction time to the fast projectiles was terrible.

He then discreetly took a quick study of the normal model mech, who was colored ruby. He remembered that the ruby mech had been able to dodge most of the projectiles, though he probably would have dodged them all if he had enough energon, and he had helped others whenever he could, even at his own risk. Hinge wanted the ruby mech for the Guardians but he couldn't just say so since Pitch had already offered Burnsport.

Blackbit must have noticed his dilemma because he said, "We like to see a bot in combat before we make a choice. How about this; you will represent Burnsport and we will choose a bot from your troop to fight against him tomorrow."

Pitch nodded and said, "Yes, of course. And may I suggest,"

"No. We will pick a bot from what we observed." Blackbit interrupted.

Pitch backed off and both Hinge and Blackbit made a show of stopping at each bot and inspecting them before stopping in front of the ruby mech and pointing to him before Hinge said, "We choose this bot."

Pitch laughed at Hinge's choice, which caused both Blackbit and Hinge to frown, and said, "You don't want Chem. He is a weak bot and a pathetic excuse,"

"Are you trying to tell us what we want?" Blackbit challenged with a growl.

Pitch took a hesitant step back and raised his servos in a defensive gesture before saying, "Fine, go ahead and pick him." Hinge then heard Pitch mumble to Burnsport, "It'll just make it easier for you to get in." The bots then dispersed, leaving Hinge and Blackbit with this bot called Chem.

* * *

"Sirs, if it is alright to ask, why did you choose a useless bot like me to represent you?"

Hinge was saddened that this mech with so much potential believed the scrap filled words that those bots were telling him.

"We chose you because you are not a useless bot." Blackbit answered.

Hinge was angered when Chem actually looked shocked at Blackbit's statement. Hinge knew that they had to help this bot get some confidence, and energon, before the fight against Burnsport. "Come back with us to our lodgings Chem, and Blackbit and I will make sure you are ready for the fight tomorrow." Hinge offered.

He saw some hesitation in Chem's optics and Hinge was afraid that he would insist on staying in the barracks. Hinge knew that if Chem did that, Burnsport, Pitch, and the other bots would make sure that Chem would be unable to stand a chance and make sure that Burnsport would win. Of course, that would put Blackbit and Hinge into a position where they would have to tell Pitch and Burnsport that they did not want Burnsport with the Guardians and that could strain relations between them in the future.

Hinge almost let out a sigh of relief when Chem nodded and said, "I guess that would be alright."

Hinge nodded at Blackbit and the three bots made their way to the Guardian's temporary quarters, which was in an old storage facility. When they got inside, Hinge and Blackbit went and grabbed some energon for themselves and Hinge grabbed a cube for Chem before they all sat on the ground. Hinge then held out the cube to Chem and said, "Here, drink this up. And don't be shy to ask for more, Blackbit won't mind getting you some." Hinge held back a laugh at the look that Blackbit gave him before he said, "You are going to need to drink up so it will be running through your systems for the fight tomorrow."

Chem took the cube and neither Hinge nor Blackbit were surprised when Chem downed the cube in no time flat. Hinge felt some worry when Chem glanced at them after he finished and had an embarrassed look on his faceplate before he said, "Sorry, I don't usually down my energon that fast, it's just that,"

"We know. We saw how you were treated today." Blackbit stated understandingly.

Chem looked slightly surprised at that and said, "Yeah, I guess you would have. But that happens pretty much every solar cycle. I was actually lucky that I got those few drops in today. On most days, either the other bots will take every last drop or Pitch will drag me back over to the lineup before I can try and will call me a lazy mech and a pathetic excuse for a warrior."

"How are you still functioning after that treatment?" Hinge asked, angered that not only the troops were doing this, but Pitch was in on this treatment as well. He was glad that Blackbit had convinced him to come out and take a look at these bots.

Chem let a sad smile appear on his faceplate as he said, "Well, one of the medics noticed when I first got put in this platoon that I wasn't getting enough energon so he would sneak me enough so I could function the next day." Chem then shook his helm before saying, "Before I joined this platoon, I was always on top and even during my first few days, I was pretty good. But, those big bots and Pitch didn't like that I could beat them so they started cutting me off from getting any energon and started to give me larger workloads, like cleaning up at the end of each day after practice."

"Why didn't you ever report this to one of the inspectors that would come by?" Blackbit asked. Hinge knew why Blackbit asked this question. Their source, who had told them about how good these bots were, was a bot that would have helped this bot if he knew about the trouble that he was in. And even then, he knew that inspectors were scheduled to visit each platoon to make sure that they were all being treated fairly to avoid situations just like this.

Chem let out a dry chuckle before saying, "Well, Pitch and the others made sure that I was always…unavailable to talk to the inspectors when they showed up. In the beginning, when they first started treating me like this, I tried to get to the inspectors and I almost did once."

"What happened?" Hinge asked.

"Well, Burnsport was coming to check to make sure that I hadn't escaped the little holding cell that they had made for me during these visits when I ran into him. Of course, I was low on energon and I couldn't fight back as he knocked me out. When I woke up, I was strapped to a berth and all of the bots in the platoon where around me and I saw Pitch standing next to my helm with a laser scalpel. He shook his helm at me and told me that I shouldn't have tried to tell. And then," Chem then paused as, what Hinge and Blackbit assumed was, a painful memory was being relived.

"You don't have to go into detail if you don't want to Chem." Blackbit stated softly. He knew that some experiences were just too difficult for a mech to say at once.

But, both Hinge and Blackbit were surprised when Chem shook his helm and said, "No, you bots are trusting me to go out there and fight against Burnsport for you, the least I can do is to tell you this. Well, as you both probably know, optical sensors are really sensitive. Well, Pitch knew that too. He took his laser scalpel and cut around my optic. It was…extremely painful and I thought that he was going to cut it out. I screamed out in pain but the other bots around just smirked at my cries. When they were finally finished in teaching me my lesson, they undid my straps and warned that I was not to tell anyone what happened. As soon as they left I stumbled out of there and made my way to my medic friend. He helped me out and fixed my optic as best as he could. But, well, even though my sight wasn't damaged, the area around it wasn't so lucky. My friend attached this half visor for me and I can retract it whenever I want."

Hinge and Blackbit couldn't help but gasp when the half visor covering Chem's right optic retracted and they saw the scarring that went around Chem's optic. They could both tell by the scars that the original cuts were extremely deep.

"From that day on, I became more complying to their treatment, knowing that the pain of an empty tank was nothing compared to the pain that I experienced to my optic." He then glanced at the two of them and asked, "What will happen after the fight tomorrow?"

"Well, what I do know is that you are never going back to that platoon." Hinge stated. "I will personally go in there and get any of your personal effects."

"Don't have any in there." Chem stated.

"Nothing?" Hinge asked in shock.

Chem shook his helm and said, "Nope, they were destroyed before the optic incident. All that I have, I carry in my sub space."

Blackbit nodded and said, "If you lose tomorrow, which I will pray to Primus that you don't, we will get you transferred to another platoon immediately."

"And if I actually win?" Chem asked hesitantly, though Hinge would have sworn that he heard a bit curiosity in Chem's voice that sounded like he might believe he could win.

Hinge smiled and said, "Well, normally you would have to fight me, but I think that this fight tomorrow would suffice. Right Blackbit?" Blackbit nodded and so Hinge stated, "Well, if you would agree and if, and hopefully when, you win we would like you to join the Guardians."

Hinge was suddenly very anxious for the fight tomorrow when he saw a bright flame of hope flare up in Chem's optics as he registered what Hinge stated before stating with a small smirk, "If I win, I would graciously accept your offer." His smirk then grew into a smile as he said, "And since I don't have any personal effects in the barracks, I could leave right away."

Hinge could now see the mech that he had caught a glimpse of on the practice field earlier. He was now pumped to see the fight tomorrow. Knowing that they needed a full night recharge, Hinge glanced at his internal clock and saw that it was starting to get late so he said, "Ok mechs, we need to get to berth and get some recharge. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. Chem, we have an extra berth in our room that you can use."

Chem nodded so the three mechs walked to their berth rooms and were soon deep into recharge.

* * *

Hinge recognized the dream when he saw it. It had been so long since he had it last but he could still remember. The black faceless mechs were attacking the femmes and he went to stop them. Blackbit and the silver faceless bots then rushed to stop them. Blackbit then turned to him and asked, "What now Hinge?" Then the dream changed. He was about to answer when one of the silver faceless mechs started to shift until Hinge saw Chem standing in its place before he said, "We make sure that everyone is ok. Who should go where?" Hinge's vision then went dark.

* * *

When they woke up the next morning, Hinge and Blackbit were surprised to see Chem already up and getting energon for the three of them. Chem smiled when he saw them and handed them both a cube before they all sat down. "Are you ready for the fight today?" Blackbit asked.

Hinge was excited when Chem nodded enthusiastically and said, "Yep. I feel like I actually have a chance."

Blackbit nodded but walked over to him and said, "Just remember. He is a lot larger than you are so don't try for the direct attack. Keep him moving and second guessing himself."

Chem nodded and said, "Thanks for the advice. We should probably head to the fight. Pitch and the rest of his platoon are waiting."

Hinge nodded and so the three finished their energon and made their way to the training grounds. When they arrived, Hinge noticed that most of the platoon was in the observation area while Burnsport and Pitch were standing in the center of the field. As they walked toward the center of the field, Hinge noticed that Pitch slipped a look of surprise. Hinge could only guess that it was from the condition that Chem was in. Pitch probably wasn't used to Chem actually being in fighting condition.

The three of them then stopped in front of Burnsport and Pitch before Pitch stated, "Ok, let's get this fight done with. I have troops to train and Chem here still has to clean up the mess from last night."

"Very well. Let's get this fight started. There is only one rule and that there is to be no use of blasters of any sort. We want to see how you do without them." Hinge answered before Blackbit, Pitch, and himself went over to the special viewing area for coaches. They then turned to the arena and Hinge was glad to see that Chem was studying Burnsport for his weaknesses and strengths. Of course, as with any battle, the banter just had to start up.

"What's the matter Chem? Having second thoughts about fighting me?" Burnsport taunted.

"No, I'm just waiting for that half-online processor of yours to register that we are actually in a fight and not a cyber-ballet." Chem retorted.

Burnsport snarled at that and charged at Chem. When Burnsport threw a punch, Chem deflected it and used the momentum to send a kick at Burnsport's knee joint before jumping back as Burnsport's counter blow made a swing at him. Burnsport wasted no time in taking out a broad sword and charging, with a steady limp, at Chem. Chem waited until Burnsport was right on top of him before pulling out a pair of scimitars and used them to block the swing. The two then took a few swings at each other before they ended up in a deadlock.

Hinge was so far impressed with Chem. He was fighting not only physically, but mentally as well. He was using Burnsport's weight against him to keep the deadlock. Hinge then returned his focus to them as some more banter came out.

"What's wrong Burnsport? Can't push the small mech around when he has some energon in his systems, can you?"

Burnsport smirked at that and said, "Maybe I should rip that optic of yours out to remind you of the worm you are. That way, you would only be able to use one optic to lose to me."

Instead of getting angry at that, like Blackbit and Hinge were, Chem just smirked right back and said, "I only need one optic to kick your glitching aft from here to Nebulos."

Hinge laughed at that and would have to remember that for future fights. For seven more clicks the fight waged on, Burnsport taking most of the damage, until Chem made a move that got Burnsport to the ground and Chem said, "Yield Burnsport."

Burnsport growled at Chem for a nano-click before saying, "I yield."

Chem then moved the scimitar away from Burnsport's neck before offering a servo to him. In response, Burnsport smacked the servo out of the way and started to stand up on his own. Chem just shrugged his shoulders and turned to Hinge and Blackbit with a smile on his faceplate. Hinge was proud that Chem had fought honorably and had won. Chem would become a great Guardian.

Blackbit and Hinge then started to make their way over to Chem to congratulate him when the sound of a blaster warming up filled the air. Hinge quickly glanced around and saw that Burnsport was about to fire on Chem.

"Hit the deck!" Blackbit yelled as he activated his cannons.

But, instead of getting out of the firing line, Chem turned and faced the blaster and forced the blaster to face the ground as it fired before slamming his fist into Burnsport's helm. Hinge involuntarily flinched as the metal boom that came from the blow resounded across the field. That mech could certainly pack a punch. Burnsport immediately fell over into emergency stasis lock.

Hinge then heard Chem growl in disdain before walking up to them. Pitch then walked up to them before turning to Chem and saying, "What are you waiting for Chem? Get back to the bunks and start cleaning up."

"No Chem. Stay here." Hinge contradicted. He had seen a look in Pitch's optics that had scared him and, judging by the scared look on his faceplate, had scared Chem too.

Pitch glared at Hinge and said, "You might be a Guardian but you have no right to tell my bot to disregard an order like that!"

Hinge had almost lost all patience with this pathetic excuse for a mech. He had the nerve to call Chem his bot after all the damage he had done.

Luckily it was not him who lost control. Blackbit snarled at the mech and said, "We have every right since Chem is now a member of the Guardians ever since the end of that fight when Burnsport surrendered."

Pitch's faceplate grew a shocked look and he said, "That's not possible! You were only here to evaluate Burnsport, not Chem! He wouldn't have even been a choice if you bots had told me that you were considering him!"

Hinge now lost it and snarled. That bot had some nerve. "Chem has suffered abuse and torture here for too long Pitch." Pitch's optics widened at that and Hinge's optics narrowed as he continued, "Yes, Chem has told both of us about your treatment towards him and trust me, the Elite Guard will be hearing about this and you will be out of a job as soon as they do. Chem won that fight and that means he has earned the right to become a Guardian. He fought with valor and honor and bravery."

Pitch wasted no time in running away from there. But, as he ran, he cast a glare back to them that promised revenge. Blackbit shook his helm and said, "You know that he is going to run for it before the Elite Guard get here, right?"

Hinge nodded his helm and said, "Yes, but we will worry about that when the time comes. For now though, we must head back to Iacon and get Chem here settled in. Tomorrow starts his first day as a Guardian."

Blackbit nodded and said, "You excited Chem?"

Chem nodded in return and said, "Yes, and I can't wait to begin."

* * *

**Authoress: And now I officially welcome Chem into the inner chat.**

**Chem: Thanks, but the journey was a little, difficult.**

**Blackbit: If I ever find those two bots, I'll...**

**Hinge: We know, but until then let's just relax and enjoy this time out of the main story line.**

**Aurhoress: I couldn't agree more.**

* * *

**Ok, so here is Chem's chapter. It was sort of hard to write certain parts of it but I hope I did a good job. I will post the Twins and Tana tomorrow and then that will be the end of this little story. But, hopefully on Sunday, I will be able to post the first chapter in the sequel. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	4. The Twins

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Chem: Ok, so what are we going to do now? **

**Hinge: Well, we get to see just how much fun we can have annoying Authoress.**

**Authoress: Hang on, why me?**

**Blackbit: Well, since the Twins aren't here yet, and none of us would annoy each other, you are our only target.**

**Authoress: Oh, great.**

* * *

Ch. 4: The Twins

War. It was the last thing that Hinge ever thought he would be a part of. But, who could have predicted that Megatron would gather an army of troops, who he called the Decepticons, and lead them against the council? The council had immediately declared war on them and Cybertron was split into three factions: The Decepticons, the bots who defended the council; who were called Autobots and the group of bots who didn't want to take sides in the war.

The Guardians had decided to follow the Autobots. They didn't follow because of the council though, because they were not exactly sympathetic with them, but because Hinge, Blackbit, and Chem had wanted to support Ultra Magnus.

The three of them were now on their way to Praxus to help fight back another Decepticon attack against the city. Hinge hadn't been to Praxus very much before the war but he did remember that it had been a beautiful city. As the three of them entered the city, Hinge was spark broken when he saw the broken and burning buildings, the rubble on the streets, and bots of all sizes running everywhere. This was a nightmare.

"What are we doing here again Hinge?" Chem asked.

"We are here to help rescue any bots that are injured as well as fight the Decepticons. Hinge answered.

The three Guardians then transformed to their bi-pedal modes before searching the complexes around them. They all would search every nook and cranny until they found something. Hinge lifted up a slab of concrete and almost put it down when he heard a small amount of movement.

"Hey Blackbit, come hold this." Hinge asked.

Blackbit nodded and held up the slab while Hinge knelt to the floor.

"What did you find?" Chem asked.

Hinge continued to search and said, "I heard some movement and I want to make sure that it isn't just a pet petro-rabbit." He then sifted through the debris some more until his servo hit a latch.

Chem bent down and said, "A hidey hole. I heard that Praxians had these but I thought they were just rumors."

Hinge took the handle and yanked it up before shining a light inside. A flash of light blue went away from his light when he did. Hinge took a quick scan of the hole and found that it was large enough to fit him so he turned to Chem and said, "Hold the door open for me. I think that there is a bot down there."

Chem nodded and said, "Ok, just be careful."

"Aren't I always?" Hinge asked with a smile.

"Do you want my answer written in energon?"

Hinge laughed and shook his helm before slowly entering the hole. He hanged by his servos for a few nano-clicks before lightly dropping to the ground. He then looked around the room before he saw what looked like a little light blue mech sparkling curled up in a corner. He knew that the little mech was probably still scared from the attack so he slowly walked up to him and sat down when he was an arms-length away before saying, "Hello. My name is Hinge. What's yours?"

The little mech seem to relax a little at his name and said, "I'm Radar and I just became a youngling. You're a Guardian, right?"

Hinge nodded and said, "Yes. I am the leader."

Hinge smiled when a look of joy spread across the young mech's faceplate as he said, "Cool. Are you here to help me?"

Hinge nodded and said, "The other Guardians and I are going to get you out of here and to a safe house."

Radar nodded so Hinge picked him up before walking up to the hole. He then looked up and asked, "Hey Chem, you got an extra servo to lend?"

"Yeah, here you go." Hinge heard Chem say before he saw a ruby servo reach down. Hinge glanced at Radar before saying, "Ok, when I lift you up, I want you to grab that servo as tightly as you can. Ok?"

"Okay." Radar answered before he grabbed Chem's servo and held on tightly.

"Ok Chem, pull him up slowly."

Hinge smiled as Radar was lifted up. "Ok, all clear." Hinge heard Chem say. He knew that statement meant he was clear to jump up so he jumped up and grabbed the edge before using the leverage to propel himself onto the floor above. Once he was clear, Chem shut the door and Blackbit let the concrete slab fall.

"Hey little guy, what's your designation?" Blackbit asked.

Radar, who was currently being held by Chem, smiled and said, "My designation's Radar."

Blackbit smiled and said, "I'm Blackbit and the mech who's holding you is Chem."

Radar's optics grew wide and he said, "You two are Guardian's like Hinge! I'm your biggest fan!"

Hinge smiled at Radar's reaction but he knew that they had to get him to one of the safety zones. The only problem was that the closest safety zone was on the opposite side of the city. He wasn't so much worried about the distance as to the fact that Decepticon activity in the area was still dangerously high. Plus, there were very few Autobots beside themselves that were there. That was because Ultra Magnus had requested that they be one of the first responders to lower the Decepticon numbers before the other responders arrived. Hinge then said, "We need to move. Chem, you carry Radar and keep him safe."

Chem nodded and said, "Don't worry. I'll keep him safe."

"Blackbit, you and I will escort them until we have to lead off any 'Cons." Hinge ordered.

Blackbit activated his right cannon and nodded before saying, "Any 'Cons who dare show their ugly faceplates won't know what hit them."

"What can I do?" Hinge heard Radar ask.

He smiled and walked over to Chem before looking at Radar and saying, "I have a very important job for you. If you see any bot who is near us that isn't one of us, I want you to yell out and point to where they are. It's a pretty big job. Think you can handle it?"

Radar nodded and gave him a salute before saying, "You bet."

Hinge then nodded at Chem and Blackbit before the three of them left the home and started to make their way across the destroyed city. About half way through, the first Decepticon found them and Blackbit detached from the group to fight the bot while Hinge, Chem, and Radar continued on, albeit at a faster pace. The three of them were soon three-fourths of the way there and Hinge felt like they were actually going to make it.

* * *

Well, that was before Radar yelled out and pointed to his right and two car mechs, one red and one purple, came out and slammed into both of them. Hinge flew through the air and grunted as his back hit the ground.

"Radar, go hide!"

Hinge immediately half sat up as he heard the panic in Chem's order. He would have sat up all the way but he was restricted by a twinge of pain in his side. He then turned to Chem and watched him try and attack the two car mechs. In response to that, the red car mech slammed the bottom of his pede into Chem's faceplate and smashed down. Hinge, filled with fury, ignored his pain and stood up before taking out his sword and charging at the red mech in full force.

The red mech looked shocked when Hinge slammed into him and didn't have time to react when Hinge dug his sword into his chassis. The red mech fell down and tried to swipe at Hinge to let him go but Hinge was beyond infuriated. The scratches felt more like gentle touches to him at this moment. Hinge grabbed the mech's helm in his servos and ripped it off of its base.

"HINGE HELP!"

Hinge turned around in a frenzied panic when he heard Radar's scream for help. What he saw was the purple mech grabbing a struggling Radar and starting to run off with him. Hinge snarled and started to give chase to the 'Con at full speed. Whatever the cost, that Decepticon was not going to take Radar anywhere.

Hinge slid to a stop when a bronze blur slammed into the purple mech. But he ran forward again when Radar was thrown from the purple mech's servos and into the air. He got pretty close to Radar and jumped up before catching him. Making sure that he was alright, Hinge asked, "You ok Radar?"

Radar simply nodded so Hinge returned his attention to the fight and saw that the purple Decepticon had called in backup and now there was an orange Decepticon car mech standing there as well. Across from the two 'Cons was a bronze colored car mech with the Autobot symbol. Hinge was glad that he had some backup.

The bronze mech took out a sword before giving it a twirl and saying, "Come on bots, let's see what pathetic excuse for training you have received."

Hinge was about to offer his help when he realized that he would need to be able to run with Radar if things turned ugly. So, he sent a quick message to Blackbit telling him where Chem was and to check on him before bringing him to his coordinates.

A clang of metal brought his attention back to the three bots and Hinge was impressed that the bot was holding his own against the two. He seemed to know exactly when they were going to strike and almost moved effortlessly. "Come on, my grand carrier gives me more of a challenge then you two, and she is ancient." The bronze mech taunted.

Instead of falling for the taunt though, the two backed off for a click and the purple one suddenly charged at Hinge. Hinge set Radar down behind him before taking out his sword. He could see out of the corner of his optic that the bronze mech was trying to get over and help him but his path kept getting blocked by the orange mech. Hinge tightened the grip on his sword as the purple mech continued to draw closer. But, he never got the chance to use it.

* * *

BAM! A streak of blue gray slammed into the purple 'Con, making him slam to the ground, and Hinge watched as the blue gray car mech, who looked exactly like the bronze one, stepped in front of him. Hinge picked up Radar again and glanced at the mech, who asked, "You two ok?"

Hinge nodded and said, "Yeah." He then saw the purple mech charging again so he said, "He's coming back."

The mech nodded in thanks before turning to the purple mech and took out a sword. He then went pede to pede with the mech and Hinge felt like he was watching the other twin fight again. Their fighting style was almost flawless, for being as young as they were, and the blue gray mech almost looked like he was enjoying the fight, in a good way of course.

Both fights ended simultaneously as each twin ripped the Decepticons' helms off. The two bots then dropped their foes to the ground before walking up to Hinge and Radar before the bronze one asked, "Are you two ok?"

Hinge nodded and said, "Yeah, we're fine. Thank you both."

The blue gray one held out a servo before saying, "You're welcome. The name's Hindsight."

Hinge shook Hindsight's servo before saying, "Nice to meet you. My name's,"

"Hinge! I could use some help here." Hinge heard Blackbit yell.

The four of them turned around and Hinge saw Blackbit struggling to carry a semiconscious Chem. Hinge wasted no time and ran up to them before asking, "Hey Chem, nice job back there."

Chem smiled before he drifted back to unconsciousness. Hinge shook his helm before glancing at Blackbit and saying, "Ok, theses bots here are Hindsight and…what's your name again?" Hinge asked the bronze mech.

The bronze mech looked surprised that he was being addressed before he said, "Sorry, got caught up in the moment. The name's Foresight and I'm Hindsight's twin."

Hinge nodded and continued, "Hindsight and Foresight helped me get Radar back from the Decepticons."

Blackbit nodded at the two and said, "Nice to meet you. The name's Blackbit and this is Chem. You two wouldn't happen to know where the safety area is, would you?"

Hindsight and Foresight nodded before Foresight said, "Yeah, we are based there with a few other bots. We better start moving, the 'Cons will probably be showing back up soon."

Hinge and Blackbit nodded so Foresight went and helped Blackbit carry Chem while Hinge and Hindsight took the lead with Hinge holding Radar. It took them about five clicks but the finally arrived at the base. Hinge was relieved when two bots came out, one blue and yellow and the other a red and gray mech. He was surprised, though, when they saw the look on their faces. They seemed upset and he had no idea why. The blue and yellow one came up to them and said, "You bots ok?"

Hinge nodded and said, "I am but Radar here will need to be watched by your youngling care unit and my friend there with the mashed up faceplate will need medical attention." Hinge winced when his wounds he received against the 'Con he had ripped its helm off finally started to act up. He then then, "And I think my friend Blackbit and I could use some patch ups."

The yellow mech nodded and said to his gray and red companion, "Firefog, get these bots to med bay and Radar here to the youngling care unit."

Firefog nodded and said, "You got it Thunderwave."

* * *

They all then went inside and Hinge handed Radar over to the bots before allowing the bots to take him, Blackbit, and Hinge to their med bay. They opened the door and took a seat before the medic started to fix them up. The medic got Chem stabilized before fixing up both Blackbit and himself. Once the medic was done, he looked at the two Guardians before saying, "Ok, you two are all fixed up. Your friend here will have to stay the night so tell Thunderwave and Firefog that you two are to be given quarters to stay in. The name's Neuro by the way."

Hinge nodded and said, "Thank you. When would be an appropriate time to come and visit Chem?"

Neuro glanced at Chem before saying, "I would say that I won't be finished with the cosmetic repairs for another three cycles. Those 'Cons really did a number to his faceplate. Anyway, I would probably wait for tomorrow until you come see him. I will send a messenger for you if that changes."

Blackbit nodded and said, "Thank you. Do you know where we can find Thunderwave and Firefog?"

Neuro seemed to think about that for a minute before saying, "They are probably in the rec room. You will want to turn right when you leave here, make a left at the end of the hallway, and enter the third door on your right."

"Thanks for the directions." Hinge stated before both him and Blackbit made their way to find the two previously mentioned Autobots. As they approached the rec room though, Hinge motioned for Blackbit to stop when he heard the sound of arguing coming from the other side.

* * *

"Didn't we tell you blasted twins not to go out there?" Hinge heard Firefog yell.

"What were we supposed to do? Leave them to their own devises?" Hindsight retorted.

"Yes, that was exactly what we wanted you to do. Now we have to take care of these fragging bots until they decide to leave. That means less energon for us." Thunderwave stated.

"But we have hordes of energon that bots risk their sparks for to get here and we barely make a dent in it." Foresight stated.

Hinge heard Firefog growl before saying, "Yes, and we would like to keep it that way. More for us and less for them."

Hinge frowned at that. Firefog and Thunderwave were trying to extort supplies of energon for themselves.

"But it isn't right. We are a safety station. Our job is to help bots who need our assistance." Foresight again stated.

"Just you watch your glossas Hindsight and Foresight. We told you not to go out and help those stinking bots and you did so. Now we have to play the nice house guest. And since you are the ones that disobeyed orders, you two get to spend tomorrow cleaning med bay. It is going to be dirty after those bots get healed." Thunderwave stated.

Hinge knew that they had to back up so the two Guardians quietly backed up around the corner before making a lot of noise to signal that they were coming. They entered the rec room and were greeted by the four mechs just standing there, the twins glaring at the other two bots. Thunderwave smiled at the two of them before saying, "I see that Neuro healed you two up nice."

Blackbit nodded and said, "Yes, your medic did a wonderful job with our repairs. He also said that you could show us to our rooms for the night because our friend is still being repaired."

Hinge saw Firefog and Thunderwave frown at that slightly before Thunderwave said, "Oh, yes, well we don't have many available rooms so if you two won't mind, you can recharge in Hindsight and Foresight's room."

Hinge watched Hindsight and Foresight frowned at the other two bots for a split second before smiling at Hinge and Blackbit. Hindsight went on next to Blackbit and Foresight went next to Hinge and led them out of the room. Once they were a safe distance down the hallway, Hindsight and Foresight stepped in front of them and walked backwards and Hindsight asked, "So, how is your friend doing?"

"He is doing ok. The doc thinks that he should be fine by tomorrow." Hinge stated.

"How long have you two been stationed here?" Blackbit asked. Hinge knew what he was doing and waited expectantly for an answer.

Hindsight glanced at Foresight before saying, "I think we have been here since the start of the war."

Foresight nodded and said, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Then why are there so few of you bots here?" Hinge asked.

Again, the twins glanced at each other. But this time, Hinge could see a hint of fear and worry in their optics, like they would get in trouble if they said anything to them. Hinge was even more sure about this idea when Hindsight and Foresight glanced around before saying, "Come on. This is our room. We can talk in there."

When they got into the room, Hinge frowned when he noticed that it was very small, just large enough to hold two bots comfortably. He wasn't upset that he wasn't going to be able to have enough room, that wasn't it at all, what he was upset with was the fact that the other two bots, Firefog and Thunderwave, wouldn't just let them have an extra room. Hinge assumed that this was punishment for the twins for going out and helping them.

* * *

Hindsight bolted the door locked it after they got in and motioned for the two Guardians to sit on the ground with them. Hesitantly, both did and waited for one of the twins to talk.

"Well, the reason that there are so few of us here is because no bot wants to be around Firefog and Thunderwave. They are frag helms and they like to take control." Hindsight stated.

"But why are you two here?" Blackbit asked.

Foresight sighed before saying, "Well, there are only seven of us here normally. There are us two, Neuro, Thunderwave, and Firefog. Plus there are two other mechs here; one is a silver and green motorcycle mech named Pinefrost and one is a gold and blue car mech named Suncrest. Pinefrost and Suncrest only stay here because they want to make sure they watch over any younglings or sparklings we happen to get, like Radar. Neuro is the only medic who stayed behind because he knew that there would always be some bot who needed his help, like you bots and your friend."

"But what about you two?" Hinge asked.

Hindsight took over then and said, "Us two are here to take the heat off of everyone else."

"What do you mean?" Blackbit asked.

Foresight smirked and said, "Well, we are the ones that will normally cause trouble because if we don't cause the most trouble, then Thunderwave and Firefog will notice if Neuro forgets to clean up an area in med bay or if Pinefrost and Suncrest take some extra energon since Thunderwave and Firefog give us all about one cube a day and they will normally have four or five."

Hindsight nodded and added, "And our normal choice of trouble is pranks. We have gotten very creative with our pranking skills over the stellar cycles. But today, instead of a prank, we got to pull the not-following-orders move and that's our story."

Hinge nodded at that. These bots seemed very responsible and were willing to take up the burdens of punishment to make sure that those bots who might not be as strong as they are don't get them. Plus, he knew that they had excellent fighting skills. He had sent Blackbit a message with the video feed of the fight in it and Blackbit said that he would not mind them being Guardians as long as they had the morals. "That is very brave of you two. You know, taking the others' burden of dealing with those two glitch helms." Hinge stated.

Hindsight and Foresight just shrugged their shoulders and said at the same time, "We would do it for any bot." Foresight then said, "Now, who exactly are you bots and why are you here?"

Hindsight nodded and said, "Yeah, 'cause you bots look important and have that air of authority around you. Good authority mind you but still authority."

Hinge was not surprised that neither Hindsight nor Foresight recognized them. Their generation hadn't had the benefits of being told Guardian stories at berth time and so they were still somewhat in the dark about the Guardians. He figured that they knew what they were about but they didn't know who was in it. Hinge smiled and said, "Well, as you know, my name is Hinge, this is Blackbit, and our friend in med bay is named Chem. We were sent here by Ultra Magnus to act as first responders and get any bots we found to here, the safety area. The only bot we found that wasn't a 'Con was Radar."

Foresight nodded but said, "But why would Ultra Magnus specifically send you three in as first responders? Don't they usually send in a bunch of bots to fight off the 'Cons?"

Blackbit let out a chuckle before saying, "Normally yes, they would. But we aren't exactly normal bots."

Hindsight grew a suspicious look in his optics before he asked, "Just what kind of bots are you that even Ultra Magnus trusts that it would only take three of you to be first responders?"

Hinge smiled and decided to answer them so he said, "Well, Blackbit, Chem, and I make up the Guardians."

Hindsight and Foresight just stared at the two of them in shock. Hinge was guessing that they were still trying to process the information that they were just given. Finally, after a few clicks, Foresight got out of his shock enough to ask, "You mean the top warriors on all of Cybertron who have an outstanding sense of morality Guardians?"

Blackbit nodded and said, "Yep."

Hindsight and Foresight then scooted closer to the two Guardians before Hindsight asked, "Does that mean you bots are the highest ranking bots currently here?"

Hinge raised an optic ridge in confusion before answering, "Yes, Ultra Magnus made it quite clear to all the bots who are in charge of these places that us Guardians rank just above a Prime. He made that way so we could kick a Prime out of a position of authority if they are endangering an area or just being greedy and abusing their power." Hinge noticed the almost excited looks on the twins' faceplates so he asked, "Why?"

The twins again turned to each other and Hinge realized that they were talking over their twin bond. It was silent for a click before the twins returned their attention to Hinge and Blackbit. Then Foresight said, "Thunderwave and Firefog were put in charge of this place and we all; and that's including us two, Neuro, Pinefrost, and Suncrest, would like those two taken out of here as quickly as possible. They are cruel dictators and nobot wants to have them here any longer."

Hinge glanced at Blackbit, who nodded, before saying, "We will have to talk to our friend Chem before we agree to officially, but we will most likely help. We overheard the argument that you two had with Firefog and Thunderwave in the rec room before we got there and know that they don't deserve to be in charge here."

Hinge was filled with joy when he saw the hopeful looks on Hindsight and Foresights faceplates. He took a quick glance at his internal clock and saw that it was getting late. If they were going to have this confrontation tomorrow they were going to have to have a good recharge. "Ok bots, we need to get some recharge."

Hindsight and Foresight nodded at each other before saying, "Well, us two will share a berth and you two can decide who will get the other." The two twins then got on their berth.

Hinge motioned to the berth and said, "Take it Blackbit. You had the floor last time."

Blackbit nodded and got on the berth while Hinge got comfortable on the floor. He smiled to himself when three different snores soon reached his audio sensors. Great, three times the challenge of falling into recharge. But, despite the extra snore chorus, Hinge was soon in recharge.

* * *

Now Hinge really was starting to get annoyed with this dream. Like all of the other times, the black faceless mechs came followed by him leading the silver ones, Blackbit, and Chem. Then, Blackbit turned to him and asked, "What now Hinge?" Then Chem answered him saying, "We make sure that everyone is ok. Who should go where?" Now the dream went further and changed. He glanced around and saw that there were many different areas that he was unfamiliar with. But that was when two of the silver bots shifted and they turned into Hindsight and Foresight. Foresight pointed to one of the burning buildings and said, "I'll take over here with Chem and Blackbit." Hindsight nodded at his twin's suggestion and said, "Then Hinge, you and I can take the subway system underneath."

* * *

Since he had some of the dream before, he didn't wake up in a panic but he was alarmed when he onlined his optics just to see three familiar figures' faceplates in his vision. He sat up and said, "You know, there are better ways of waking someone up then staring at them."

Hindsight tilted his helm to the side and said, "But they aren't as much fun."

Hinge groaned and sat up before saying, "Well, Blackbit and I have to go to med bay real quick to see if Chem is up. Then, we will join you. Where are you going to be?"

Hindsight glanced at Foresight who said, "We think we are going to hang out in the rec room. Come and meet us in there when you are ready."

Hinge nodded so he and Blackbit made their way back to med bay. When they walked inside, they saw Chem sitting on a berth talking to Neuro. Next to Neuro were two bots that Hinge recognized from the twins' description and the one called Pinefrost was holding Radar. The five of them turned to the two Guardians and Chem said, "Hinge, Blackbit; we need to help these bots here. The bots called Thunderwave and Firefog are vicious dictators that have abused their power."

"We know." Blackbit responded. "Hindsight and Foresight have told us everything. Speaking about those two, Chem, we want to accept those two into the Guardians."

Chem raised an optic ridge but that immediately changed to understanding when Hinge sent him the video files that showed the twins' actions. Chem soon nodded and said, "I agree as well. Do they know that we are looking at them as Guardians?"

Hinge shook his helm and said, "No, they don't. All they know is that we are Guardians and we can help them."

Neuro then looked around before asking, "Where are those two anyways?"

Blackbit pointed out the door before saying, "They went to the rec room to wait for us."

Neuro, Pinefrost and Suncrest glanced at each other in a panic before saying together, "We need to get there now."

They all then ran out the door, Pinefrost still carrying Radar, and made their way to the rec room. While they were running, Hinge turned to Suncrest, who was running next to him, and asked, "What's the problem?"

"Before you all showed up, Firefog and Thunderwave stormed into the med bay, covered in tar, demanding to know where the twins were. We all figured that the twins must have pranked the two of them so we said that they were heading to the rec room because we figured that they wouldn't be there." Suncrest answered.

"Yeah, and plus it doesn't help their case that they disobeyed orders and went to help you bots. They are most likely getting punished now." Pinefrost added.

"How bad is it?" Hinge asked with worry.

Neuro moved closer to him before saying, "It sometimes makes me wish I was a Decepticon prisoner when I see their wounds after a 'lesson learning time' with those two."

Hinge, Chem, and Blackbit could now understand why they were in such a rush to get to the rec room. Hinge turned to Pinefrost and Suncrest before saying, "You two will come with us and bring Radar. I don't want one of them sneaking out and using him as collateral if they get into a tight spot. But, I want you two to watch him and be ready to run if one of them attacks you. Neuro; Blackbit and I will distract the two bots and you and Chem will check on them. Also Chem, while checking up on them, if they are conscious, ask them the question. It will help us with any problems that might arise."

* * *

All of the bots nodded and they all soon reached the rec room. Hinge held up a servo to listen and could hear the faint sounds of somebot being punched. Hinge slowly opened the door and stared in shock when he saw the twins strapped to upright tables that where bolted to the wall and Thunderwave was shocking Hindsight with a strange prod and Firefog was shocking Foresight at the moment. Both twins looked a little ruff but they didn't look to terrible yet.

"How did you bots get into our private chambers?" Firefog demanded.

Hinge was proud when Hindsight glared at him and said, "Like we would tell you two." Hindsight then grunted in pain as he was shocked by Thunderwave.

Thunderwave shook his helm and said, "You know, this would go so much quicker if you two would just tell us."

Foresight shook his helm and stated, "Still not helping your case here Blunder-wave." Foresight yelled out in pain when Firefog slammed the prod against his neck cables.

Hinge knew that it was now time to put their plan into action so he slammed the door open, which caused Firefog and Thunderwave to jump, and stormed in with the others behind him. "What do you mechs think you are doing?"

Firefog and Thunderwave must have thrown out the good host behavior because Thunderwave growled and stated, "Nothing that concerns you."

Hinge watched as Chem and Neuro made their way to the twins and started to get them down. Hinge and Blackbit knew that they had to keep their attention so Blackbit stated with a low growl, "I think it is our business since you're torturing those two bots."

Firefog now growled before saying, "Why don't you low rank bots leave and let us Majors take care of our business?"

Hinge saw that Neuro and Chem had gotten the twins down. He caught optic contact with both twins and when they nodded, he knew that they had chosen to accept their new positions on the Guardians. So, he returned Firefog's growl with a more feral one of his own before saying, "Well, for one thing Firefog, we won't let you take care of your business because it is endangering your troops. Second of all, you should check a bots status before saying that they are a lower rank then you."

Thunderwave laughed at that and said, "I don't see any bots in here that outrank us. Neuro doesn't outrank us since he is only a medic. Those blasted twins don't since they are just simple soldiers. Pinefrost and Suncrest don't because they are only care takers. And you three definitely don't because you were sent in here as first responders and only the grunt of the grunts are sent to do that."

Everybot jumped when Hinge let out a loud bought of laughter. Then they all shivered when he let out an evil, knowing smirk before saying, almost whispering, in a tone that foretold terrible tidings for Thunderwave and Firefog, "You don't know how wrong you bots are."

Now the two offending mechs were starting to get worried so Firefog asked, "What rank are you bots?"

Hinge's smirk only grew wider as he said, "We don't hold any official rank on the Autobot force." He then paused before taking out his sword and saying, "We are the Guardians."

Thunderwave's and Firefog's optics widened in shock and fear at that statement. "Impossible! The Autobots wouldn't send in their best troops to be first responders!" Thunderwave stated in shock.

Hinge nodded and said, "You two are hear-by taken off of command here and are to take your sorry afts back to Cybertron where Ultra Magnus will be deciding your punishment. I have just sent him the file of these events and the complaints that we have received. Now," He then let out a short and powerful growl before saying, "Get your afts out of this building now."

The two took no time in running out of the door. Once they were gone, they all got in a group and Hinge said, "Pinefrost, Suncrest, and Neuro; you three will be in charge here until their replacement comes. And if their replacement causes any trouble like they did, don't be afraid to call us right away." He then turned to Hindsight and Foresight before saying, "You two excited about being Guardians?"

Foresight nodded before saying, "Couldn't think of a better thing to be."

Hindsight also nodded and said, "Plus, now that we outrank the Primes, we can prank them too if they start to annoy us."

Hinge sighed and turned to Blackbit and Chem before saying, "What have we unleashed?"

At that statement the entire room burst out in laughter.

* * *

**Blackbit: I wonder where Authoress is, she is usually around here at the end of the chapter.**

**Hinge: Yes, and it is starting to worry me. Do you think something happened to her?**

***Two walk under a doorway and both get splattered with glue and feathers fall all over them.***

***in another room***

**Authoress: That's what they get for annoying me. *turns to two figures* Thank you for your assistance.**

**Hindsight: No problem Authoress. We would do that...**

**Foresight: ...anytime.**

* * *

**AN: Ok, hope you all liked. Next chapter will be up soon. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	5. Tana

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: Finally, I am getting to the last chapter. Then I get away from all of this insanity.**

**Hinge: And is that a bad thing?**

**Authoress: Not at all. My mind will finally be free from insanity.**

**Hindsight: But don't worry, you still have us in the Journey Chronicles.**

**Authoress: And there goes my sanity...again.**

* * *

Ch. 5: Tana

Hinge was upset when he ended a call from the council. Ever since the end of the war, the popularity of the Guardians had increased exponentially. At first, the five of them had thought that their popularity would attract the kind of bots they were looking for. But, what they got were snooty bots who assumed they would get in because of their status. The Guardians had turned away every single applicant so far and many of those applicants had complained to the council about not getting in. The council in turn had been hounding them to start accepting new members. Each time they hounded though, the Guardians, or Guardian, that they were talking to reminded the council that the Guardians were independent of the council when it came to their member numbers.

Hinge had just got off the line with Dragstrip, who had been talking about that very topic. He grabbed his morning low grade and went to the meeting room to discuss possible candidates with the others. When he entered the room, he was not surprised to see that all of the Guardians had bored expressions on their faceplates and he honestly could not blame them. They would meet at the beginning of every solar cycle to look over the day's list of possible candidates and there were usually about two hundred applicants.

The last candidate they had almost brought into their ranks was an enforcement officer called Breaker. They had evaluated his fighting skills and moral values secretly and had decided, as a group, to accept him. They had approached him near the end of the war and thought that he would accept. But, Breaker had refused them because he wanted to stay with his bondmate, who he had been bonded to since before the Guardians got his application. Chem had asked him why he had sent an application in and Breaker said he didn't.

When the Guardians got back to their headquarters, they took a second look and saw that the council had submitted it. Now, they had to take their time with each applicant they considered to make sure that they actually sent it in.

All of the Guardians groaned when the screen in the middle said that there were three hundred candidates. It was going to be a long morning.

"Why can't there ever be a solar cycle when we only have one hundred?" Foresight complained.

Blackbit grumbled a little before saying, "I agree with Fore. The number of applications that we have been receiving has become outrageous."

Hinge nodded in agreement but said, "I know. But we have to look through each one carefully."

Everybot nodded in agreement before Hinge brought up the first candidate. Luckily, it was somebot who had already tried to apply so they all said no pretty quickly.

About four cycles later, they were almost finished with the day's list and so far, they had no possible candidates. There were only two more bots left to look at so Hinge hit the next button and a silver car mech showed up on the screen. His fighting skills were remarkable and they were about to put his name down as a possible when Hindsight said, "Hang on bots, this mech's got a record."

They all looked at the file again and were angered that he had been placed in the stockades numerous times for kidnapping and selling numerous femmes on the black market. They tossed his out right away.

Before they went to the final candidate for the day, Blackbit stated, "What happened to the days when we actually went out and looked for potential bots instead of sitting on our afts and going through this fragging paperwork?"

Hinge agreed with Blackbit on every account. But they had promised the council one more chance of not sending them an application for another bot and, so far, they had kept their word. "I do too Blackbit but, until the council messes up and sends in an application for a bot who doesn't want to, we can't."

Foresight grumbled a little before saying, "Well, let's see the final applicant so we can spend our non-training day actually going outside and searching for bots the old fashioned way."

Hinge nodded but no one really paid any attention as Hinge hit the next button.

"When did the Autobots get a femme triple changer?" Chem asked.

That caught everybot's attention and they all actually glanced at the picture. Hinge had heard of this femme but never thought that she would ever apply to the Guardians. He quickly glanced at the sender of the application and became suspicious when it was blank.

"Says here her name is Pandimala and she was raised in Joint and Blockade's Academy housing ever since she was a youngling." Blackbit stated.

"Also says here that she was brought in by Ultra Magnus himself the solar cycle after the Decepticons left Cybertron." Foresight commented.

"Really?" Hinge asked. They could now ask Ultra Magnus about this femme before they spent too much time with her.

"Yeah. Plus, her fighting record at the academy is pretty impressive and she doesn't have a single conduct mark against her." Hindsight informed.

"Hang on bots. I believe, if you wouldn't mind, that we should contact Ultra Magnus right now. Since he knows this Pandimala, he can tell us if we should investigate into Pandimala further." Hinge suggested.

"Why the hesitation Hinge?" Blackbit asked.

Hinge magnified the sender area and said, "Because the sender part is blank. Now, it could be that she forgot but it could also be the council trying to put another bot here who doesn't want to."

The other Guardians nodded and Chem said, "Contact Ultra Magnus."

Hinge typed in the necessary commands before waiting. It took a few clicks but Ultra Magnus eventually picked up and said, "Hello Guardians. Why are you calling?"

"What can you tell us about a femme named Pandimala?" Hinge asked.

Ultra Magnus looked shocked at their question before saying, "Pandimala is loyal and kind. She won't get into fights unless it is to protect a friend or someone who is at an obvious disadvantage. Why? Did you bots have to break up one of her fights?"

Hinge shook his helm and said, "No. I called because we received an application from her and we,"

"No."

Hinge was shocked that Ultra Magnus interrupted him. Ultra Magnus wouldn't normally do that. He would normally wait until he was done speaking to answer.

"Sir, why not?" Foresight asked.

Ultra Magnus sighed before saying, "No, don't even bother going to ask her to be a Guardian. You would be wasting your time. She has made it quite clear that she wishes to one day become a Prime." He then grew a thoughtful look before asking, "You said you got her application. Can you forward it to me?"

Hinge nodded and sent the application while asking, "Ultra Magnus, why do you need her application?"

"I have a suspicion and I want to see if it is correct." The Guardians then watched as Ultra Magnus skimmed the application before he said, "I am glad you contacted me first Hinge. I can tell you with utmost certainty that the council sent this. They have been trying to get Pandimala off the track of becoming a Prime for a while."

Blackbit growled and Hinge nodded before saying, "Thank you Ultra Magnus. Have a nice solar cycle." The call then ended.

Before anyone could comment, Hinge said, "We will deal with the council next time they contact us. Today, we get to go out and actually look for prospective candidates."

A chorus of cheers went up from the Guardians when Hinge said that. They hadn't gone out to look for new recruits in stellar cycles. Now, they could observe bots before seeing their profiles. Hinge made a motion that told the bots to settle down before saying, "Yes, we are all excited about this so we will separate into two groups. Chem, I want you to patrol around this half of Iacon with Hindsight and Foresight. Blackbit, you and I will hang out and search around the Academy training grounds and the area surrounding it. And, we'll stop by Slapjack's bar. Many prospective bots hang out there so it will make our job easier."

They all nodded and grabbed their cloaks before heading out the back entrance.

* * *

Hinge sighed as he made his way to Slapjack's bar. The only thing he hated about in-the-field work was having to listen to all the bots gossiping around him. And by the look of Blackbit's faceplate, he was annoyed with the chatter as well. They both let out sighs of relief when they entered Slapjack's bar and it was not very loud. They were shocked when they actually took in their surroundings though.

Many of the tables were charred and/or frozen, there were smashed energon cubes and tables, many chairs were sliced in half, and there were blaster marks littering the walls. The two Guardians walked up to Slapjack and Blackbit asked, "What happened here Slap?"

Slapjack shook his helm and said, "A group of twelve Academy bots came in last night and were relaxing from, what I assume was, a hard day of training. They were separated into two groups; one group of seven that was made up of all mech's and a group of five that was made up of three femmes and two mechs. Well, a yellow green medic femme, whose name is Balm, came up to the bar to order when the group of seven came up and tried to hit on the femme, emphasis on the word try. She refused and grabbed the tray with her cubes before trying to get around."

Slapjack sighed before saying, "One of the mech's grabbed her arm and pulled her closer, causing the cubes to fall, before asking if she would show him a good time. To my surprise, she said yes. Well, my surprise until she made a fist and said that her fist was good and she used that fist to punch him in the faceplate before saying that he would need time to fix that faceplate of his and that was her good time. The whole bar, including myself and her friends, burst out into laughter at that. Balm went to go back with her friends when the mech she punched kicked her in the back and she fell into that table."

Slapjack then pointed to a broken table before continuing. "Her friends immediately jumped up to defend her and that was when the rest of this damage happened. The fight lasted a good twenty clicks before the group of seven turned tailpipe. I went over to them and asked if Balm was alright. Balm confirmed that she was alright. They then offered to come back today and clean up and they should be here in a click or two."

"Why didn't they clean up last night?" Hinge asked, wondering why this group waited.

"Well, they would have cleaned it up last night but Remcy, an orange and brown car mech, remembered that they had a big test today so they all promised to come in after they were done." Slapjack answered.

So, the Guardians asked for their normal and sat down. They soon were drinking their mid-grade and waiting for these bots. About seven clicks later, the door opened and the sound of multiple running pedes could be heard. Slapjack let out a laugh as the pedes screeched to a halt and a mech voice said, "Sorry we're late Slap. Remcy here decided to get a hole in his pede and we had to take him to Ratchet."

Slapjack nodded before saying, "That's alright Zarron. I figured it was something like that." Slapjack then pointed to a pile of tools before saying, "You bots know the drill."

Hinge and Blackbit then heard the sound of shuffling pedes and, as soon as the sound of working began, Hinge and Blackbit took a chance and studied the group of bots.

The one that surprised them the most was the femme called Pandimala. This must have been the type of fight that Ultra Magnus was talking about earlier. Next to her was the brown and orange mech Slapjack had identified as Remcy. Next to him was a black motorcycle mech with blue flame decal that Hinge assumed was Zarron. Hinge then saw the medic femme, Balm, start to fix a table.

The only one that he didn't know was the medium silver femme with black stars. She was doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Hinge was about to ask Slapjack about her when he stopped himself. Since this was the first time they had been able to look in the field for a while, Hinge figured that he would have fun and look into her himself.

* * *

And look into her he did. For one stellar cycle after that day, Hinge researched and studied the femme, whose name he learned was Tana. From what he found and observed, Tana had all the moral convictions that he looked for in Guardians. His only problem was that he hadn't been able to find an appropriate time to test her. She would either be in training with her platoon, hanging out with her friends, or recharging.

Her tight schedule was the reason why Hinge found himself walking through the abandoned area of the academy training center. He had heard from one of his sources that Tana was going to do some extra training with a simulator. As he approached the area, he could hear the tell-tale sounds of training.

He turned a corner and hid in the shadows as he watched Tana fight a drone. To him, she seemed to move almost flawlessly when dodging and attacking. As he continued to watch her, he tried to think of how he would approach her. Since he hadn't talked to her at all, he knew that it would be awkward if he just walked up to her and asked her to fight. Glancing around, he saw the control panel and formulated a plan. Thinking quickly, he wrote down some information on a data pad, just in case, before returning his attention to Tana. When Tana had been fighting the drone for about nine clicks, Hinge knew that she was about to win. He was proven correct when a click later, Tana defeated the drone. From her body language, Hinge could tell that she was about to turn to activate the control panel again so he started to step in front of said panel.

As he got in front of it, he noticed Tana halt in her movements. Good. That meant that she knew not to trust him right away. She seemed to study him for a click before asking, "Excuse me; I would like to use that."

Hinge let out a little laugh at her because he was impressed with her calm approach. He would have demanded a bot that got in front of him to please move. He knew he had to answer her so he said, "Then I have a proposition for you. I want you to fight me. If you win, I will let you use the machine some more."

Tana gave Hinge a skeptical look before asking, "And if you win?"

Again Hinge was impressed with her. She made certain she wasn't walking into a deal she didn't like. "If I win, then I get to spend the rest of the solar cycle talking to you." He then paused to allow that to sink in before he asked, "Do we have a deal?"

Tana looked like she was thinking about it before she nodded her helm and said, "Deal."

Hinge knew he had to test her reaction time so he quickly drew his sword and attacked. He was proud when she brought her main mod, which he noticed was a morning star, and blocked his attack before yelling, "What the scrap!"

But Hinge could see that her optics were aglow with excitement for the fight so he said, "What? A real enemy is not going to give you a helms up so why should I?" Hinge could also feel himself get excited for the battle. He knew that this battle was going to be entertaining.

The two of them began their dance of war. Hinge was impressed that they both seemed evenly matched. It seemed that every time he would try to land a hit, she would block it just in time. Plus, whenever she would try and get a hit on him, he would block it just as flawlessly.

After some time, Hinge glanced at his internal clock when they forced each other back and was surprised that they had been carrying on this masterpiece of a fight for a cycle and a half. Hinge could feel that his systems were going to shut off soon from the exertion of the battle. A quick glance at Tana told him that she was in the same condition.

The two then ran at each other and eventually, even Hinge would admit, that he got in a luck punch and Tana went sprawling to the ground. Hinge knew that this was the best time to end this battle so he started to walk over to Tana with his sword. As he got closer, he heard the sound of something transforming and assumed that she was putting away her morning star. He soon reached her and pointed his sword at her before he said, "Yield."

The nano-clicks of silence that followed his demand worried him that she might be seriously injured. That was, until, she suddenly lashed out and he felt something slam into his pedes before he started to fall over. As he fell, he caught a glimpse of her left servo and inwardly smiled to himself when he saw a flail instead. Tana had saved her ace for her last stand.

Hinge snapped his thoughts back to the battle when he hit the ground and Tana was suddenly on top of him, trying to force her morning star against his neck. He knew there was only one way to win this now so he used an old trick his teacher taught him and he got Tana on her back and got his sword against her neck before he again said, "Yield."

Tana had a look like she knew she had finally been defeated before she finally said, "I yield."

Hinge then got off of her and helped her up. She took a click to stabilize herself before saying, "Dang, you fight really well."

Hinge gave her a light grin before saying, "You weren't so bad yourself. Especially for a young bot. What's your designation?" Even though he already knew her designation, he had to act like he didn't.

"The designation's Tana." She then seemed to think about something after that and asked, "So, you won the bet. What do you want to talk about?"

Hinge knew he had to talk to the other Guardians before he talked to her so he shook his helm, to her apparent confusion, before stating, "Not now. Meet me tonight at this little joint that my friends and I usually hang out at and then we will talk."

He then took out the data pad he wrote on earlier before walking up to Tana and handing it to her before starting to head back to the Guardian headquarters. As we walked he realized that he had left on a cold note so he yelled back, "And don't be too late. I might think that you are bailing on me."

* * *

He then turned a corner and put on his cloak before running back at full speed. When he got inside, he ran to the meeting room and stopped at the doors to calm down before he went into the meeting room. Once he walked inside, he saw the others sitting there.

"Frag Hinge, what happened to you?" Blackbit asked. His outburst caused the others to look at him and ask similar questions.

"Well, I gave that final test I told you bots about." Hinge answered.

"So, I am guessing from your condition that the bot passed?" Chem asked.

Hinge nodded and said, "Yeah, the bot passed." He then winced in a little pain from the blow to his pedes that Tana's flail had inflicted earlier. He had completely forgot about that injury.

Chem noticed this and was at his side before saying, "Come on, let's get you healed up."

Hinge knew that he had one more thing to say so he said, "One more thing. I want you bots to get spiffed up. We are meeting the bot at Radar's place in five cycles. I want us to be there in four and a half." Hinge then allowed Chem to help him to the repair bay. When they entered the bay, Hinge laid down on the berth.

"I'm going to have to put you into temporary recharge so I can work on your pedes." Chem stated. While he was getting everything put together, Chem asked, "So, how worse off was the other bot?"

Hinge sighed before saying, "Well, the bot got off a little better than I did actually."

"Wait, you lost?" Chem asked in shock.

Hinge shook his helm and said, "Not quite. I almost did though. The bot pulled out a secret ace when I almost won the first time and almost had me pinned."

"How long did it last?"

Hinge gave out a tired sigh from the memory of it before saying, "A cycle and a half." Hinge then watched Chem put the sedative in his main energon line. As he drifted off, he heard Chem say something about not waiting to meet him but thought nothing of it as he fell into his induced recharge.

* * *

This dream was getting old. It was like all of the dreams he had in the past. Then it continued. They all then got to their designated areas and helped the civilians evacuate. After they were sure that they were all gone, they all met back in the main square. Hinge glanced around the area and his spark dropped when he saw the overpowering numbers of the other mechs. He looked at each of the other Guardians before saying, "Ok, we need to prevent them from advancing any further mechs. Just in case something happens, it has been an honor serving with you all."

The other's nodded before returning their attention to the advancing enemy. It seemed like they were going to be overpowered when they saw one of the silver bots weave through the black bots before turning into Tana. Tana then looked at them all and said, "What, do I have to do all the work around here? Come on mechs, let's get our servos dirty."

* * *

Hinge felt a lot better about accepting Tana into the Guardians after he woke up from that. So far, his dream had showed his actual members right before he accepted them. Hinge sat up and checked his internal clock to see he had five clicks before they had to leave for Radar's. He checked his chassis and made a mental note to thank Chem for polishing him up.

Hinge then got up and headed toward the meeting room. When he entered the meeting room, he was glad to see that everybot was polished up and ready to go. So, they put on their cloaks and went to Radar's place, which was called Radar's Sturdy Blade. When they got inside, Hinge was glad that Radar was there.

As soon as Radar saw them, he walked up to them and said, "Hey bots. It's been a while."

Blackbit nodded and said, "Yeah it has. How's the business doing?"

"Well, we take in a steady number of customers a day and everybot leaves happy. I take it that you are here to relax?" Radar answered and then asked. Hinge nodded so Radar said, "Well, your usual room is open so you all can head down there."

All of the Guardians, except for Hinge, then made their way to their normal V.I.B. room. Radar looked questioningly at Hinge before asking, "Is there something else you need Hinge?"

Hinge nodded before saying, "If I could get another chair placed in our room I would appreciate it."

Radar looked shocked at that before asking, "You are accepting another member?"

Hinge nodded and said, "Yeah, we are. But I haven't even told her that, by fighting me, she took the final test to be a Guardian."

Radar lifted an optic ridge before asking, "First off, glad you bots might finally get a femme on that team. Second, she doesn't know that she was being tested to be a Guardian?"

Hinge shook his helm and said, "No, she didn't. Can I ask you another favor?"

Radar nodded and said, "Sure Hinge. What is it?"

"Can you have one of your greeters show her to our room when she arrives. She should be here in about half a cycle."

Radar nodded and said, "Sure, just need a name and description that I can give the greeter."

"Her name is Tana. She is silver with black stars." Hinge described.

Radar again nodded and said, "Got it."

Hinge then went to their private room. Once he got inside, he saw that the extra chair was already there. Seeing that the others left a chair open next to the extra one, he sat down and they all sent in their orders.

"So, what's the bot's name?" Foresight asked.

"Tana." Hinge answered.

"Weird designation for a mech." Hindsight muttered.

Something sounded off with Hindsight's statement but Hinge thought nothing of it. He glanced at his internal clock and saw that there were about seven clicks before Tana would arrive so he turned to Blackbit and asked, "Want to arm wrestle while we wait?" Blackbit nodded and the two of them were soon wrestling.

* * *

About five clicks later, Hinge heard the door open but thought nothing of it until he finally beat Blackbit and looked up. He saw that Tana was now standing behind her chair and Hinge went to introduce her when he was interrupted by Hindsight.

"You ordered a pleasure bot boss? You shouldn't have."

Hinge saw the anger flare up in Tana's optics and he knew that this was not going to be pretty. WHAM! Hinge flinched when Tana's flail met with Hindsight's faceplate and he went flying out of his seat before hitting the back wall. Hinge felt extremely sorry for Hindsight when Tana marched around the table and grabbed him before saying, "I am **not** a pleasure bot. You ever call me one again and I swear that you won't be able to walk again. Got it?"

Hinge almost laughed out loud when Hindsight nodded before he ran back to his seat. Tana went over to her spot at the table and Hinge knew that was the perfect time to introduce Tana so he said, "Everybot, this is Tana." Hinge saw looks of realization appear on the other Guardians' faceplates once he said her name. While they were all recovering from the discovery, Hinge decided to introduce himself so he said, "Now, our introductions are in order. I'm called Hinge."

Chem then nodded at Tana and said, "The name's Chem."

Foresight then waved and said, "Hi, the name is Foresight."

Hinge smirked to himself as Hindsight gave Tana a half wave before saying, "The designation's Hindsight. Please don't be upset with me saying you were a pleasure bot. Hinge forgot to mention that our final guest was going to be a femme."

Ah. That was what he forgot to tell them all. Whoops. He watched Tana smile at Hindsight before she said, "That's ok. Just don't let it happen again."

Finally, it was Blackbit's turn to introduce himself. Hinge was surprised when Blackbit held out a servo and formerly stated, "My designation is Blackbit and it is an honor to meet you Tana." The only thing that Hinge could think while Tana shook Blackbit's servo was that the scene he just saw was weird.

Hinge returned his attention to Tana as she asked, "So, what are we here to talk about?"

Hinge was surprised when Chem was the one to spit out the high grade he was about to drink before he said, "You mean you didn't tell her why she was coming here! No wonder she looks clueless."

What? Was he supposed to remember everything? He noticed Tana frown at the word clueless but when she turned toward him, Hinge figured she was expecting him to say something so he said,"Tana, this is going to sound weird but I have been watching you train for the last stellar cycle and I must say that I was impressed."

"Yeah, that does sound a bit weird, but go on." Tana interrupted.

Hinge resisted the urge to respond to her comment and said, "Well, the fight we had a while ago was sort of your final test. To see if you had what it takes. And I must say that you did extremely well. One of the best final tests that I have ever given."

"FINAL TEST FOR WHAT?"

All of the Guardians jumped and looked surprised when Tana screamed that. Hinge realized from that yell that she was going to get along just fine with everybot, if she accepted. He decided to finally answer her question and said, "Yes, you see, um, the test was a final test to see if you were worthy of becoming a Guardian."

Hinge was surprised when Tana seemed calm about that when she said, "See was that so hard to get ou..." He immediately changed that idea when Tana stopped and, what he was guessing, the full effect of what he said hit her. "A Guardian? ME?"

There was the reaction that Hinge was looking for. So, Hinge nodded and said,"Yes, you have shown outstanding qualities that are so hard to find in this age but what I look for in Guardians. If you haven't already guessed, I am the leader of the Guardians. So what do you say; are you in or out?"

She honestly took a shorter time to answer, probably lees then a nano-click, "I accept, oh I accept. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" What he was not expecting was the energetic hug she gave him. He would not expect that from her. She finally backed down though and sat down before asking, "Now what?"

Hindsight smiled and said, "Now, we finally have a femme on our team."

Foresight also smiled and said, "Yes, you are the first femme to ever be in the Guardians. So, how do you feel?"

Tana then said, "I feel like I need a cube of high grade."

And Hinge couldn't blame her. For the rest of the night, they all got to know Tana and she got to learn about them and being a Guardian. She then excused herself and said that she had to get her things. Hinge nodded and they all watched her leave to get her things.

They left soon after and made their way back to headquarters. Once they arrived, they all waited at the front door for Tana to arrive. Hinge took the chance and glanced at Blackbit before asking, "So, what was with the formal introduction Blackbit? I didn't even get that."

Hinge was surprised when Blackbit looked nervous at that and said, "Just, being polite to her. That's all."

Hindsight and Foresight grinned at each other before singing, "Blackbit and Tana sitting in the Gardens,"

Hinge laughed as Blackbit walked up to the twins and knocked their helms together, effectively silencing them. Just then, Tana walked up with a smile on her faceplate and Hinge had a thought. If there was one thing that Hinge could say about the future was that it was going to be very interesting.

* * *

**Tana: And that is an end to this wonderful story.**

**Hinge: Yep, and now you all know what I was thinking.**

**Authoress: Well, it was really great working with you all.**

* * *

**AN: And that is it folks. I might put up the first chapter of The Path Less Taken tonight if I get enough response but if not then it will be up tomorrow. Hope you all liked this insight. Please read and review. But no flames.**


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